St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1887-10-22
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.



the first fall month. is cotton harvest
Ing. The fruition of the cotton plant
er's hope of a successful. practica
machine for gathering cotton is yet in
allegiance. and the work must still b
done by nimble human fingers. In
vcntOrs. however. are earnestly Al
work seeking to solve this grea,
problem. Cotton picking by hand il
by far the most expensive operation in
volved in the production ofraw cotton.
Moreover. the cost Of nearly every
operation. except picking. may be
reduced in proportion Is the
yield per aero is greater There
Is practically hut little diff
ference in the cost per pound of gath
ering by hand the crop from an acre
producing one thousand pounds Of
seed cotton and another acre yielding
only half rs much. Hence, the su.
rreme importance and universal desire
for practical machine to supersede
the work of the hand. Such machine
must necessarily be SO constructed-to
bc efficient-that its daily capacity
will be almost in direct proportion ia
the yield per acre.
Much has been said and written al
late years about the importance Of
gathering cotton free from trash. to
use the farmers vernacular; and some
OF the writers. although right in the
main. are evidently but little familiar
with the requirements and conditions
that must be practically met on a
cotton plantation during tho harvest
ing of the crop Some years ago an
apparently otherwise intelligent En-
glish writer undertook to show that
there was no excuse whatever for the
presence Of sand or soil in the bales Of
cotton; that the cotton crop opened
Gall of it, was his idea) in September.
a month in which there was little or no
rainfall. He concluded. and rcproved
and lcctured the farmer accordingly.
that the sand was fraudulently added
by the farmer as makc-weight
While it is desirable to house the
cotton IS free from leaf and hull rs
may be. it is of first Importance that
the crop be '.gone over Is often as the
quantity open at one time is sufficient
to enable hands to do fair days work.
In the interest OF economy. and with .
limited picking force. celebrity Of move
ment, nimblel css of fingers and the
weight Of cotton gathered per hand per
day are tho points to be observed. The
pickers should not be embarrassed and
retarded in their work by too rigid re-
quiremcnts in the matter of trash.
They should go with rush from the
start. and every proper encouragement
should be offered them to bring heavy
baskets to the stecl-yxrda A little
trash hurts very little; . good
deal does not affect the SELL
ing price seriously. il the
sample is bright and free from wealth
cr stains and dirt. Great care in re-
moving or avoiding trash may add
half cent. or even more. to the SELL
ing price # . weeks work of six
bales harvested. leaving three bales
in the field to be storm-beaten aud de-
s:royed to the extent of one-third its
original value. before the hands get
10 work again. Fast work and q little
more trash might have saved the nine
bales before the storm.
The same idea applies to picking
the cotton clean from the hulls. Hands
should be taught to make one we'll
directed grab at an open boil. and
then grab tho next. The little that
may be left in many Of the hulls will
remain until the last picking. when the
field may be closely CLEANED. 1t should
be considered that dirt, stains loss Of |
color and brightness of sample. and
loss Of cotton from falling to the |
ground. are far more damaging than |
the presence of clean trash.
1t was one OF the excelencies Of
David D:ckson's farm management that
he studied the manual operations
Of the farm in detail and taught his
laborers how to do every thing to the
best possible advantage He not only
studied to discover the shortest and
best way Of performing . given opera
lion. but also sought to determine
which arc the most important details
He taught his laborers - shoemaker
pr machinist teaches his apprentice.
He stressed the importance Of dexterity
and skill in every detail Of the appar-
,ntly simple operations Of
.hopping cotton and picking cotton.
His attention to the details Of per-
orming the various farm operations
largely to his success - q
armer and planter.
After the cotton il picked. II wet
rom heavy dew or raiH it will pay to
xercise some care in drying IL, BY
preading ON scafFolds or distributing
t over a large surface in the cotton
'ouse. especially that from the bottom
( the basket when heavy dews are
REVEALING. with the present labor.
owever. not much cotton is gathered
eforc the dew disappearA) With the
anger part OF tho crop now ginned
nd balcd At custom ginneries. there
hould be . much greater improve
rent in the quality Of the work over
hat Of the old plantation Clubhouse
han is yet manifest Careful
andling. proper ginning and baling
hould be insisted upon.-SossAsss I
Mltirat0r.
Keeping Sweet Potatoes.